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Towards a Socially Responsible Science Education

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Science Education: A Global Perspective

Abstract

This chapter is about proposing the kind of relevant science education that is needed to address both students'needs and interests as well as current global challenges facing humanity. The narrative calls for a shift in emphasis in science education from one that is essentially disconnected from social issues to one that is embedded in socio-scientific issues and is responsive to the demands of our time. An important reason for this shift is the apparent isolation of many science curricula that are quite divorced from such a perspective. Drawing on our experiences of interdisciplinary dialogue (of multiculturalism and pedagogy, science-indigenous knowledge curriculum integration), I illustrate how reformulating the agenda in science education in South Africa for instance, such that it is oriented towards a context-based teaching approach for socially responsible science education may offer the basis for the engagement of students in active participation and decision-making in the context of the community and environment in which they live.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Science Mathematics and Technology Education, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Gilbert Onwu

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  1. Gilbert Onwu
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Correspondence to Gilbert Onwu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Science Teachers Association of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria

    Ben Akpan

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Onwu, G. (2017). Towards a Socially Responsible Science Education. In: Akpan, B. (eds) Science Education: A Global Perspective . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32351-0_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32351-0_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-32350-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-32351-0

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